


Daydream

by thebluepandalord



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Prequel, sasha and connie are kind of in the background at first but later on they get more attention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-08-10 03:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7828927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebluepandalord/pseuds/thebluepandalord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His mom always said that "what he did in high school would stay with him forever, so make sure you have fun". Now he's about to start his senior year in high school and he still has exactly one friend, one person he hates and a crush he still hasn't asked out. </p><p>When Jean's best friend Connie encourages him to finally ask out Mikasa, he gets rejected. Just a few seconds later, he meets Marco. </p><p>Marco didn't really give the best first impression, but slowly, they become more than just friends.<br/>----------------<br/>This fic is abandoned. Sorry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What the heart desires

People were chatting as they walked towards the school. It was a large grey building with rectangular windows and only one big wooden door to enter through. There was a wall surrounding the entire school and four gates that were open during the day. Then there were a total of three buildings, two that they had their classes in and one under construction. 

It was the first day of the new school year, but summer was still in the air. People were laughing at the memories they made during the summer break. The trees were still bright green and flowers more colorful than ever. 

But the warm summer air didn’t reach Jean for several reasons. One, because of the fact that he had stayed up late almost every night, he was now extremely tired. Two, it was his senior year. That meant that he would have to pick a college, and decide what he wanted to be ”when he grow up”. Three, it was school. That meant that it was the season to spend hours on just studying things that they would forget after finals. 

He finally reached the classroom after walking through the maze of hallways for about ten minutes. It didn’t matter that it was his senior year. All the hallways looked the same, so it was still hard for Jean to find were everything was. When he walked into the classroom it was almost empty. He only saw two familiar faces, Ymir and Krista. They sat next to each other, but none of them spoke to the other. Christ was looking at her phone, and Ymir was eyeing Krista. It was noticeable that She wanted to talk to her, but didn’t dare. 

Jean tried to ignore them and took a seat in the back of the classroom. The minutes passed as the classroom was filled with familiar faces. Jean hadn’t seen most of them for three months, but they all still looked the same as before. 

He tried not to say anything when he saw Eren’s face. Jean was still angry over the fact that he called him horse-face the first time they met. Beside that, Eren’s personality really bothered Jean. But there was something that he really liked when Eren was around. Mikasa, who followed Eren around wherever he goes. Although she is always so cold towards almost everyone, there was something about her that made Jean’s mind go blank every time she was in the same room. 

The bell rang and everyone took their seats. And so the first day of school started. The day passed by slowly, at least to Jean. He needed his daily amount of coffee he didn’t get this morning and he wasn’t really happy about being there. 

He managed to get through the entire day without punching someone in the face, but it wasn’t guaranteed that it wouldn’t happen the next day. 

The next day came and went faster than lightning. After the first few weeks, Jean had learned to recognize the faces of people in his class. He ate lunch with the person he always ate lunch with, Connie. He was talking and talking so much Jean thought that he would never stop. But Connie was one of Jean’s closest friends, so he didn’t say anything. 

”Earth to Jean!” Connie suddenly yelled. Jean looked up from the half full plate of food in front of him. 

”Huh?” Jean looked at him with tired eyes. ”What?”

”I was talking to you, you know?” Connie said annoyed. 

”Yeah yeah.” Jean muttered, not caring if he offended Connie a bit. 

”So I was thinking about asking out Sasha…” Connie trailed off. 

”But..?” Jean said, suddenly interested in the conversation. 

”I don’t know…” Connie just looked down. 

”Well why not?” Jean asked. 

”What if she says no?” Connie blurted out, a little bit too loud. A few people who walked by stared at him in surprise, but continued to walk. 

”Then she says no.” Jean said and took a bite of the bread. ”There’s not much you can do about it.”

”You’re right!” Connie said. He then left Jean sitting there all alone. Jean wanted to tell him to wait for him, but Connie was long gone. 

Fourth period was biology for Jean. He wasn’t really into anything involving science or math, but there was something about biology that he really liked. 

After fifth period he saw Connie again, and he looked really happy. Jean was almost one hundred percent sure he knew why. 

”Jean! Guess what just happened? I asked out Sasha and she said yes! So on Friday at seven we are going to the movies!”

”Okay have fun then.” Jean laughed. 

If his closest friend was happy then he could also be happy, at least for a while. 

”Why don’t you ask Mikasa on a date?” Connie suddenly said. 

Jean was surprised when he said that. No one knew about his crush on her. He hadn’t told anyone. 

”How did you know I have a crush on Mikasa?” Jean said in a whisper. 

”Oh come on dude it’s obvious. The way you act around her just makes it as clear as it can be.”

”I guess I can do that…” Jean said. Deep down, he didn’t dare to ask her. He was afraid of being rejected. She was always so expressionless, so he didn’t know if she would like him or not. 

”You are the one who encouraged me to ask out Sasha. So get your ass over there and ask her out!” 

Jean hadn’t noticed before, but Mikasa was standing by her locker all alone. Connie gave him a small push on his back and then left. The hallway was almost empty, only Jean and Mikasa were there. 

”Um… Hi.” Jean said and blushed. He was embarrassed to ask, but now it looked like he didn’t have a choice. ”So um…I um…like you…Do you want to…um…go on a date with me?” 

He did it. He actually did it. Mikasa looked surprised. So she didn’t know about his crush on her after all. Connie who said it was obvious. She looked at him as if she felt sorry for him. Jean immediately knew what her answer was going to be. 

”I’m sorry Jean…” It was the first time he actually saw her show an emotion. ”But I don’t really feel the same for you.” 

Then she walked away as if nothing happened. Jean was just standing there in the hallway, lost for words. A voice behind him almost made him jump in surprise. 

”Wow.” The boy with black hair approached Jean. ”You just got rejected in one of the worst ways possible.”

”Yeah no shit.” Jean said, annoyed of how the guy pointed out the obvious. 

”I understand that you wanted to ask her out,” he said, ”but I don’t think she will say yes to anyone. I’m Marco by the way.” He held out his hand, waiting for Jean to take it.

”I’m Jean.” 

”Hey, you’re in my english class right?” Marco asked. He slowly brought his hand down, realizing that he might not have made the best first impression. 

”Yeah I am.” Jean said and walked away. He didn’t want to talk to Marco. He would just make it worse. 

Deep down, Jean wanted to just sit down and cry. But he couldn’t do it. He was in school and everyone would stare. He didn’t want that kind of attention. Besides, he was late for class. 

———————————


	2. All about forgiveness

It’s been about two days since Jean got rejected by Mikasa. He was still not really over it. It wasn’t the fact that he got rejected, it was the way she said it. He’d never felt so bad before. The worst part for Jean was when that black haired boy Marco showed up. Jean had seen him in class a lot. There he looked so sweet and innocent, but when he talked to Jean he was just flat out rude. 

Jean didn’t see Marco until the end of the week. He was in his english class, looking sweet and innocent as always. He tried to ignore Marco, but he kept finding himself staring at him too many times. When the bell rang Jean stood up and walked out from the classroom as fast as he could. 

When he closed his locker he saw Marco standing right beside him. Jean didn’t say anything. Instead he tried to get Marco away just by staring at him. 

”I want to apologize.” Marco said, trying his hardest to keep eye contact with Jean. ”I realized that I might have sounded a bit rude. I want to start over. I’m Marco.” 

Marco smiled as he held out his hand. After thinking for a few seconds he finally shook the hand. 

”Jean.” He said with the face still serious. At first he didn’t know wether or not to befriend him. But he didn’t want any more people to dislike, because in his opinion Eren was enough. 

”To make it up to you, why don’t I buy you coffee?” Marco said with a nervous laugh. There was a smile on Marco’s lips, but Jean could see the fear in his eyes. Normally Jean would have said yes, but now he was still depressed over the fact that Mikasa rejected him. 

”No thanks.” Jean turned around and left Marco behind. 

Marco just stood there as Jean’s figure was out of sight. The hallway was almost empty, everyone had already left to go home. Eventually, he went home too, still having the sand haired boy in his mind. 

———————————

The school had about five thousand students. Meaning, he could see a face and never see it again. But somehow, he saw Marco everywhere. When he first got there, Marco was walking only a few meters in front of him. When he was in the cafeteria, Marco was sitting by the table next to him. It was as if everywhere he turned Marco was there. 

’It can’t be a coincidence’ Jean thought. ’He must be following me.’

When the day was finally over he saw Marco once again. Jean had decided that he would confront him. Marco was alone. This was the perfect moment for Jean to do it. He walked as fast as he could up to Marco’s face and started yelling. 

”Hey! Why are you following me?!” Jean said and pointed out a finger towards Marco. Marco was very confused over the situation. He had no idea what Jean was talking about. He wasn’t following Jean. He was always at the same places as Jean. It’s just that Jean didn’t notice it before. 

”I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Marco said and lowered Jean’s hand. 

”Don’t act innocent!” Jean was pissed of, it was written all over his face. ”You have been everywhere I have been today! I know it’s not a coincidence.” 

”Why would I be following you?” Marco asked, still very confused. 

The thought hadn’t hit Jean before. Why would he follow him? Jean was shocked and embarrassed. He had confronted Marco and he was wrong. 

Jean was lost for words. He waited for Marco to react and start yelling, but it didn’t happen. 

”It’s okay.” Marco said with his sweet smile on his lips, like he understood what Jean was thinking. ”See you some other day.” He waved to Jean and left. 

Jean was left there all alone. He thought about what Marco just did. He forgave Jean just seconds after he confronted him. 

Forgiveness… 

’Maybe I should do the same…’ Jean thought.

———————

The next day Jean followed Marco around just to find out where his locker was. Jean refused to ask for forgiveness in person. He thought it was embarrassing and a waste of time. When he finally found out where Marco’s locker was he waited for Marco to leave and then left the note in the locker. 

Last period was English. It was Jean’s second favorite subject. Art was his first. 

”Today, and for the following five weeks, you are going to have a group project.” 

’Great.’ Jean thought. ’Just what I needed.’

He hated group projects. It was always the same. One person says they’ll help but doesn’t do a shit. One person has no idea what’s going on. One person is almost never there until when they’re finished, and one person does all the work. 

”You are going to work in pairs.” 

Jean was a bit surprised. That made the situation ten times better. It meant that they actually could split up the work evenly. The teacher started rabbling up names. Connie got to work with Sasha, and he was really excited about that. Jean waited and waited until he heard his name. 

Marco. He was going to work with Marco. The odds were not on his side today. He didn’t really have anything against Marco, it was just embarrassing to talk to him. 

”You are going to write a fiction story with multiple chapters. One person is going to write one chapter and then the other person will write the second chapter. Then the first person writes the third chapter and so on. You have five weeks.”

Then the teacher sat down and people started to go and talk to their assigned partner. Unwillingly, Jean stood up and walked over to Marco. 

”So,” Jean said and stared right into Marco’s eyes. ”What are the odds?” 

”Yeah…” Marco sighed. It was as if he felt the same way as Jean. ”A note was pretty lame.” 

That was when Jean remembered that he put a note in Marco’s locker earlier that day. 

”Uh… Well…” Jean tried, but he couldn’t find the words.

”I forgive you.” Marco said and threw the note on the desk. 

Jean could see a big difference on Marco’s behavior. He was acting cold, and he looked empty. It was as if all the life in Marco was just drained out. Jean didn’t want to push him, so he didn’t ask any questions. 

”So what do you want to write about?” Jean asked, changing the subject to get Marco’s mind of whatever was bothering him. For some reason, Jean felt sorry for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was the new chapter. The next chapter will hopefully be posted in a week, but idk since I have school and stuff and I will prioritize that. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I' m finally back with a new chapter! I know it took me really long time to write and publish it but it's a really long story...  
> Whatever it's done now so enjoy!

”JEAN!” 

Connie’s voice echoed in the quiet neighborhood. It was impossible not to hear it. He was running towards Jean who was walking home from school. 

”Damn.” Connie said, out of breath. ”You are almost impossible to catch up to.” 

”What is it?” Jean asked.

”I’m going on a second date with Sasha!” Connie said in triumph. 

”That’s great,” Jean said, ”but why didn’t you just text me?” 

”Because I have another thing to ask you and I don’t want you to ignore it.” 

”And what is that thing?” Jean said, suddenly interested in what Connie was hiding. 

”How are things going between you and Marco?” Connie teased. 

Jean was shocked by the question. Nothing was going on between them. But he couldn’t help but blush a little on the inside. 

”N-nothing” he managed to get out. ”We just have thing english project we are working on.” 

”What? Really?” Connie said, as if he was expecting another answer. ”I thought you two might wanna go on a double date with me and Sasha.” 

Him? And Marco? Dating? The thought was absurd to Jean. How could Connie possibly believe that Jean and Marco were dating? Beside that, Connie wanted to go on a double date with them. 

”Yeah no we’re not dating. We just have this project…” 

He didn’t want to date Marco either. He still thought that Marco didn’t give a good first impression and that he was a quite rude person in general. Just a few 

”Wow how disappointing. Well, that was all I had to say. Later!” Connie was out of sight just as quickly as he had appeared. But Jean could still hear his loud footsteps in the now again quiet neighborhood. 

Jean sighed and continued walking home. His friend really was a dork. Connie probably didn’t even realize that. On the other hand, Jean had no idea how other people saw him. They might think that he was boring and anti-social. Now that he thought about it, Marco might think of Jean the same way Jean thought of Marco. 

He stopped walking when he saw the familiar blue paint splatters on the sidewalk. The house was large, too large for only two people to live in. His mother wasn’t home, she was working night-shift at the hospital and his father was dead. He died in a train accident when Jean was little, too little to remember anything about him. 

The house was ghost-like. No one was there to welcome him home, to ask about his day or help him with his homework. Just empty in more than one way. Jean went up the stairs to his room and sat down on his bed. Then he picked up his sketchpad and pencil from the floor where he left them and started drawing. 

To draw was a hobby of his and had always been but he never actually showed people his drawings. He didn’t want to show anyone either. Normally he wouldn’t care what people thought but when it came to his drawings he just… Didn’t want anyone to see. He didn’t want anyone to see what his emotions looked like.

———————————

The days came and went, nothing special or different happened. Life just went by as it always had. Jean was avoiding people, especially a certain loud and green eyed guy he saw almost everywhere he went. The worst part was that he was always followed by Mikasa. She was the last person he wanted to see. Not because she rejected him but because whenever she saw him she looked at him like she felt sorry for him, which she probably did. Jean didn’t want any pity, especially not from her. 

It was just when he had left school he saw Eren again. This time he was alone. Both of them were alone, walking in opposite directions. Eren was staring on the screen of his phone, not aware of his surroundings. Jean was walking as he always did, straight back and head held high. 

Jean was just a few meters away from Eren when he heard his phone ring. He stopped to take it out from his pocket when Eren suddenly smashed into Jean.

”Ouch!” Eren yelled. ”What was that for?”

”What are you talking about you bumped into me!” Jean said, touching the sore spot on his chin where Eren’s forehead hit him.

”Yeah because you were in the way!” 

”You could have just walked around me!” 

”No, I couldn’t I didn’t see anything!”

”That’s your own fault!” 

They kept on yelling to each other even though they were only a meter away from each other. People started gather around them, wondering what was going on and some people hoping that they would fight. And the people got what the hoped for. 

Eren decided that it was a good idea to punch Jean in the face and for some reason he didn’t expect Jean to punch him back. Eren grabbed the collar of Jean’s shirt with one of his hands and raised his other to punch him in the face again but someone way stronger than him pulled him back. Jean felt someone pull him back too, but he was too angry and too distracted to see who it was.

Rage was printed all over Jean’s face as he struggled to get free. People were staring at Eren as Mikasa pulled him back. 

”Let’s go,” the voice behind him said and pulled him away from the crowd. 

The person behind Jean didn’t let go of him until they were all alone. When he turned around he saw Marco stretch his arms. 

”Man, you really are stronger than you look.”

Marco was the one person he didn’t expect to see and absolutely didn’t want to see. 

”Whatever.” 

Jean turned around and started to walk away but stopped when Marco spoke. 

”What? You’re not going to say thank you? Or say anything at all?”

He was standing with his back facing Marco as he decided to answer him, ”Why? Why would I thank you? You pulled me away from a fight I could have finished. I didn’t want your help. We are even now.”

He then started to walk away. Marco’s voice was echoing behind him. ”I did it to be nice.”

But Jean didn’t want to hear anything. He didn’t care. He was in a bad mood and didn’t really feel like talking to anyone. Marco was standing there, now alone. But Jean didn’t care.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was lying to himself. He did care. Marco’s words echoed in his brain for the rest of the day. 

_I did it to be nice._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! And again sorry for making you wait so long! And sorry again, because I can almost guarantee you that the next chapter will not be published in about a week. I will try to post every Sunday but it these upcoming weeks will be hard because I have A LOT of homework and I will prioritize that. Hope to see you again soon!


	4. A bag, an apology and a new friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there so I'm (finally) back with a new chapter! Sorry I couldn't update so often, but it's kind of a long story and not necessary to write down here. This one turned out really REALLY long, buuuut you guys deserve it after my semi-hiatus. And sorry on beforehand for all the mistakes I did (cuz i know there r many)

It wasn’t until he got home Jean realized that his bag was still in school. He dropped it before the fight, along with his phone. His things were still lying on the ground, the bag getting dirty and the phone still ringing. Jean never got to answer that call he got earlier. Then Eren bumped into him…

Jean didn’t want to think about it. He just wanted to get his bag and phone back. But when he got to the spot where he and Eren started to fight he saw that his bag was not there. 

”What the hell…” Jean looked around to see if anyone had taken it but no one was there. It was empty, the wind whistling in his ear. He could feel his mind wanting to shut of. 

He felt drained. He just wanted to go home and take a nap. Since there wasn’t much he could do about his missing bag and phone Jean decided to go home. 

No one was home when he got there. He just went up to his room and fell down on the bed. 

———————————

When Jean woke up it was already dark outside, but his mom was still not home. She wouldn’t be home for a while either. She was working overtime way to often. 

Jean heard his stomach growl loudly. He had no idea what time it was and for how long he slept. Instead of just sitting on the bed and be hungry he went down the stairs and looked in the fridge for leftovers. Of course, there weren’t any because he ate the leftovers from yesterday to breakfast. Disappointed, he took his jacked from the sofa where he left it and decided to go to the convenience store. 

Just as Jean opened the door he saw his brown back pack blocking the path. Surprised and confused, he picked it up. Everything was there, all of his books and his phone untouched. When he emptied the bag from his heavy books he found a note. 

Thought you might want this.  
-M

Jean had no idea what M stood for. Who left the bag there while he was sleeping? And why would the person do that? Was it Connie, his only friend? But the note was from ”M”. 

His stomach growled again, still waiting for food. So he took his phone that he had missed for a few hours and left the house. 

——————————

A few hours earlier

When Jean left he didn’t go in the direction they came from. He was irritated and didn’t want to talk to anyone. So Marco didn’t follow him. He didn’t know where Jean went, but it wasn’t to get his bag and phone because when Marco was on his way home he passed the spot were Jean and Eren fought. And there it was. The bag was just laying there getting dirty but the phone seemed to be okay. Marco was surprised that no one had stolen it yet. 

Marco didn’t really know what to do. But then he made up his mind. 

He looked for as much info he could about Jean. He needed to give the bag back to him. And then, after minutes of looking through Jean’s phone he finally found the address. 

Jean didn’t live so far away from the school, but it still wasn’t close. He lived in a quiet neighborhood that was a bit creepy because nothing seemed to move there. When Marco finally got to the house he wasn’t sure if he was in the right spot. It was a big beautiful house, big enough for Marco’s entire family to live in and still have empty rooms. On the other hand, Marco’s family wasn’t that big. 

The doorbell rang several times, but no one opened. 

’Maybe he’s not home,’ Marco thought. He didn’t want to keep the bag, Jean might need it and he couldn’t go back to the school and just leave it there for Jean to find later. So he left it on the porch with a note from him. 

——————————

One day later

The next morning was chilly but the sun was shining as bright as it always was. The trees started to let go of the orange and red leaves, dropping them to the ground, or in this case on Jean. He hated this time of the year. He always got leaves on his head and his clothes, the rain made the leaves on the ground look like a volcano got a diarrhea attack and people were so… Annoying. What he hated the most was the damn pumpkin everywhere. 

”Hey Jean!” Connie yelled and waved from across the street. It was odd seeing Connie here as he never met Jean on his way to school. But he was standing beside Sasha, holding her hand. 

”Hey guys…” said, not sure what to really do in this kind of situation. It was as if Connie was inviting him to become the third wheel and Jean didn’t know how to feel about that. But since they were going in the same direction, he didn’t have a choice but to go with them. 

”So why did you suddenly decide to go this way to school Connie?” Jean asked, trying to avoid awkward silence. Even though he tried to sound nice he still thought it sounded a bit like Jean was confronting him.

”Well…” Connie started but wasn’t sure how to explain it. 

”We studied yesterday!” Sasha blurted out in joy, as if studying was something to be happy about. The only thing with studying that makes people happy is when they finish it. ”And then we kind of fell asleep.” 

Connie let out a small laugh. He knew what Jean was thinking. And he absolutely didn’t want Jean to comment it. 

The rest of the walk to the school was a bit small talk but mostly awkward silence, the one thing Jean wanted to avoid. The only talk was between Sasha and Connie, and it was as quiet as a whisper. Jean really wanted to leave and not be the third wheel. When the school was in sight he was relieved. 

He walked to his locker as quick as he could to get his books and to finally be alone. But his small time of joy didn’t last long. When he closed his locker and turned around to go to the classroom his path was blocked by Eren, and Mikasa right behind him.

Of all the people in the world, this was the one person he didn’t want to see. But Eren didn’t look like he wanted to punch Jean in the face again. 

”You’re in my way,” Jean said and crossed his arms. Eren didn’t say anything, he just stood there, as if he was just waiting for something to happen. 

”Come on,” she pushed him a bit forward so he stood even closer to Jean than he did before. ”Say it.” 

Eren looked like he really didn’t want to, but he finally opened his mouth, ”I’m sorry I picked a fight with you yesterday”. Then he just stood there, waiting for Jean to either accept the apology or not. 

After a few long seconds Jean finally said, ”Fine”. Then he walked away to the classroom. He knew that Eren don’t apologize, he had always known that. But now Mikasa was with him, which means that she was the one that wanted him to apologize and Jean didn’t want a fake apology. If someone is going to apologize, it’s supposed to be from that person themselves, otherwise there is no point in apologizing. 

That’s also why he simply answered fine. Because fine can mean anything. 

The morning classes passed by faster than they usually did, and all of a sudden it was lunch. But today everything seemed to be against Jean. 

When Connie and Jean went to get lunch Sasha also came along, as if the awkward walk to school that morning wasn’t enough. Jean would feel like a third wheel. Again. But this time Connie was one step ahead of Jean. He knew that Jean had felt uncomfortable on the walk to school, so he introduced him to one of his friends so that Jean wouldn’t feel so lonely during lunch. 

But everything seemed to be against him. Connie introduced Jean to one of his childhood friends, Marco. 

”Jean this is Marco, Marco this is Jean.” 

Marco and Jean just stared at each other, both of them speechless. Now Jean could add Connie to the list of people who were terrible at matchmaking. 

”So talk. Get to know each other. I don’t know. Later!” Then he was off to eating lunch with his girlfriend. Jean still didn’t believe that they just ’studied’. But that wasn’t important for the moment, the important thing was that he was now going to have lunch with the one person he didn’t expect to. 

”Um…Hi Jean?” Marco said, trying to start a conversation that would, with highest probability, going to be awkward. 

”Hi,” was the only thing Jean managed to actually say. He had tons of things to say to Marco, but all of those things were in his own head and it would be best for both of them if the thoughts stayed there. 

They both got food and sat down by an empty table, none of them daring to break the awkward silence. Marco noticed that Jean had his brown bag back, but Jean didn’t seem to know who gave it to him. First he thought that Jean might just not wanting to apologize, but then he realized that Jean probably didn’t know who gave it back. 

”Aren’t you going to say thank you?” Marco asked, not aware of the fact that he sounded rude. 

”For what?” Jean replied. 

”The bag.” Marco pointed with his fork on the bag hanging from the chair. 

Jean was speechless when he realized it. M. M was standing for Marco. He was the ’kind’ person to leave the bag there. 

”No one opened the door so i just left it on the porch. Hope that’s okay”. 

The thoughts were spinning in Jean’s mind. He, of all people Jean knew, was kind enough to bring him his bag back? Why would he do that? How did he even knew where Jean lived? 

Jean didn’t know why, but he felt himself blush. He just hoped that it wasn’t visible. The fact that Marco did it, the fact that Marco was willing to spend a part of his afternoon giving back something important to Jean, it just made him feel like Marco cared. 

”Um…Thank you.” Jean said and looked down on the plate of food, trying his hardest to avoid the blush on his face to be visible. 

Marco didn’t want anything else, he just wanted to hear those two words. That was all he needed. 

They continued on eating in silence and after lunch they didn’t see each other anymore that day. But Jean couldn’t stop thinking of Marco.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again sorry guys for not updating on like four weeks! I have my reasons, but from now on I will try to update every Sunday (no specific time) like I tried to do before but then school came. 
> 
> Later!


	5. Coffee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! Sorry I haven't been posting any new chapters for over a month now but I have my reasons. But now it's here, and it's short, so sorry guys  
> Oh and sorry for all the grammar mistakes and spelling (I wrote this really quickly)

It had been over a week since the awkward lunch Marco and Jean had but Jean still couldn’t let it go. The thought of it still made him blush a bit on the inside. He didn’t know why. It was a weird feeling he’d never had before but it still felt… Good. 

Jean hadn’t seen Marco since that day and Jean wasn’t sure if he really wanted to see him. This time it wasn’t because Jean didn’t like Marco. No, that was something he was completely neutral about. It was because of the fact that it would be awkward and Jean had no idea what to say to him. And besides, what was the point? It was just a lunch, nothing big. 

He was walking down a hallway in school with his mind buried somewhere in his phone when he bumped into someone. This time it wasn’t Eren who was looking for a fight again. Jean looked up to see a surprised freckled face right in front of his own. 

”Um…Hi,” was all Jean could say. He felt his cheeks slowly turn pink. ’Why am I blushing?’ Jean thought. He didn’t feel attracted to Marco, at least he was aware of that. So why did he blush? 

Marco’s reaction was just like Jean’s. He was confused at first. None of them had seen the other for over a week and then suddenly they happened to bump into each other. 

At first Jean thought of just going to class since he would be late otherwise, but then he remembered. 

”Um… Do you like… Want to get coffee later… Maybe? You know as thank you for… Leaving my bag at my house…” 

The question surprised Marco. It was the last thing he expected to hear, especially from Jean since he didn’t seem to like Marco at all. He thought Jean was only asking to be kind and not because he actually wanted to. That’s why Marco decided to say, ”Yeah, sure why not?” 

”Okay then… Meet me outside after school.” After that, Jean left. He was already late for class. 

—————————

The day passed by slowly after they met. They were just going to have coffee together. No big deal. But Marco still felt…Excited. He had helped Jean with many things, even though Jean never realized it. 

After an eternal waiting of the school day to end it finally happened. Jean was waiting outside by the gates, just as he said he would. He didn’t look happy though. No, he looked like he was going to kill someone anytime soon. Jean had been waiting outside for over ten minutes. It was cold and windy and the leaves were flying everywhere. 

”I waited,” was the first thing Jean said. ”What took you so long?” 

”After class I left my books in my locker and took my jacket and then I left,” Marco responded with a polite tone. He always tried to be as kind as he could but it wasn’t always so easy. 

”Fine,” Jean snapped. ”Do you know any good coffee shops in town?” 

The question surprised Marco. He thought that Jean had already found a place since he was the one who planned the entire thing.

”No…” Marco said. ”But why do you sound so annoyed?” 

The moment he spoke that last word he regretted it. Jean was already pissed off and he didn’t want to make him even angrier. 

Jean fought the urge to say something rude to Marco. He didn’t want to fight with Marco again. Instead he said, ”We can find some place later then.” 

He started walking down the street but stopped when he realized that Marco was not walking beside him. 

”What are you waiting for?” Jean asked. 

”I’m coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so a few days ago I realized that it had been over a month since the last time I posted a new chapter. I have been very busy with school and other things in my life so I didn't really have time to write. However, it's here now. Just remember that this fanfic is not abandoned. I will try posting as often as I can but it will be difficult since I prioritize other things. Again, I'm really sorry you had to wait this long for this short part!


	6. Coffeeeeeeeee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally sorry!!!!!!!!! Please forgive me!!!!! I know it has been forever since I posted the last chapter but I have been reaaaaaaally busy. I've been through the hell weeks of school, which is basically the last few weeks of school when every single teacher decides to give us students essays to write and tests and other stuff that takes a lot of time. Except from that, I was on vacation where I didn't have much access to internet... I did write quite a lot though so...   
> Again really sorry!!   
> This chapter is very short but I plan to write a lot more and post a lot more these weeks. Sorry!!!!

Jean was pissed and the situation didn’t get better when it started to rain. After walking around in town for about 30 minutes they finally found a small coffee shop that nice. Soaking wet they walked inside. It was almost empty. They were almost completely alone. 

They both bought a cup of coffee and sat down by one of the many empty tables. It was quiet for a while until Marco decided to break awkward silence. 

”So…” he started, not daring to look into Jean’s eyes. He was annoyed and it was making Marco nervous. ”What did you want to talk about?”

The question surprised Jean. He didn’t even think Marco would want to be there. 

”Um… I don’t know… I just…” he mumbled. Jean looked down in shame. He should’ve made up a plan instead of just improvising. 

”Is the coffee good?” Marco asked when he saw how Jean struggled to say something. He didn’t look pissed off or annoyed anymore. 

He hated it. Small talk was unnecessary, according to Jean. Instead of responding with sarcasm, he said ”Yeah”, and tried not to make eye contact. He wanted to say something, but every time he tried to say anything, no sound came out. 

Marco thought it was obvious. It looked like Jean wanted to be anywhere else than with Marco at that moment. 

”You know what?” Marco said as he stood up and picked up his bag. ”I’m just gonna go now.” 

He turned around to walk away but stopped when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist. 

”Please don’t go,” Jean whispered behind him. He didn’t want Marco to leave. He wanted to tell him that he was really sorry for acting like an asshole. He just couldn’t find the right words. 

”Why not?” Marco asked, not turning around to face him. ”You’ve made it clear that you don’t want to be here with me. So why should I stay?”

”I’m…Sorry,” Jean mumbled. ”I want you here. I’m sorry if I made it seem like the opposite. I just… I need you to stay.”

When Marco heard those words he turned his head and looked into Jean’s eyes. 

”Please…” Jean whispered and looked down. ”Stay.”

He saw in Jean’s eyes how much he wanted him to stay. He couldn’t say no to that beautiful face. 

”Okay then,” Marco said and sat down on his chair. 

There was a long silence after that. None of them really knew what to talk about. This time, it was Jean who finally decided to speak up. 

”So…I have met you many times in school and in other places but I really don’t know anything about you,” Jean said. ”Could you maybe…Tell me more about you?”

”Uh… Yeah,” Marco responded, surprised by the question. He never thought anyone would ever be interested in him. 

Time passed as they talked. They talked until it was dark outside and the only person working there told them they were closing so Marco and Jean had to leave. That was when they realized for how long they had been together. It wasn’t late, but both of them really needed to study. 

”I should really go now,” Jean said but didn’t leave just yet. He waited for Marco to say something. 

”Yeah…” Marco mumbled, sad that they had to part so soon. Then he got a great idea. ”Why don’t we do this again sometime?” 

”Yeah! That sounds great!” Jean smiled. ”I never knew you were such a nice person.”

 _I really want to get to know you better,_ Jean thought. He didn’t say it out loud though. He never knew someone as Marco, who didn’t really give a great first impression, could be so nice and kind and such an amazing person. 

”I will see you in school then,” Marco mumbled and smiled. 

”Okay bye!” 

With that Jean left Marco standing there alone. 

_I’m a nice person,_ Marco thought. _Huh… Never thought anyone would say that. And mean it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's short and I know it's shit and I'm sorry but the next chapter will be out as soon as possible! I'm in the middle of writing it even though I really should study (I don't wanna study tho so...) I will post the next chapter as soon as the one after that is almost finished! (so I always have a backup)   
> Again... SORRY!!!


	7. Friends to keep the winter warm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES I AM FINALLY BACK WITH A NEW CHAPTER   
> I should really really study though (but I still don't wanna I don't even know what I need to study I'm gonna fail high school) but I find more happiness in writing this so here it is. Enjoy my trash

It was getting colder outside. 

However, the cold did not bother Jean. The fact that it got colder outside meant that christmas was getting closer. Sure, christmas was a great holiday, but for almost his entire life he had spent it alone. He just didn’t get it. You get presents from people without because you’ve ”been nice”. And then, as you grow older you stop getting presents. Because you are not a child anymore. 

To Jean it just didn’t make sense. That, and he was always alone on christmas and sometimes, so it got very lonely. He didn’t have family that lived close to him, his father was always on a business trip or something and his mother always working. 

His mother always said that it was his high school years that would always be with him the rest of his life. Well, so far high school sucked. He didn’t make any new friends and he was still single. He had friends, he only hadn’t made any new ones. The only thing that made his high school years at least decent was his fairly good grades. 

But wait… Didn’t Marco count as a friend now? They didn’t really hang out often, but they would always say hi in the hallways to each other and they would always sit next to each other on the classes they had together. That’s what friends do, right?

It was almost the middle of december which meant that everyone would be buying christmas gifts. People would also start to be nice to other people. Because it’s christmas and that’s the time of the year when everyone is happy and nice. Still, according to Jean, there was no point in it. 

He was walking to school when he saw Connie walking alone. He hadn’t seen Connie walk this way to school in a long time. He always walked to school with Sasha these days. They were dating and had been for quite a while now. It didn’t bother Jean because his friend, who had been a loner and single for such a long time, finally had a girlfriend who loved him for the dork he was.

”Hey… Nice to see you here again,” Jean laughed. 

”Nice to see you too, it’s been a while since we walked to school together,” Connie responded with a smile. ”So… I need your help with something. Or well… actually I need your advice.”

”What is it?” he asked. He didn’t think his advice would be good, but his friend was after all asking him and he could at least give an answer. 

”Well… I was thinking of going to the winter dance… And I wanted to go with Sasha…” Connie began but then looked at Jean as if he would know what Connie was planning to say. 

”And?” 

”Well… I don’t know if she will say yes.”

”Wait… The winter dance?” Jean was confused. He had never heard of a winter dance. 

”Yeah. You know the one our school arrange every year for some reason. You are going, right?” 

”Um…” Jean wasn’t sure. He hadn’t planned on going. He didn’t even know about the winter dance until now. And besides, who would he go with? ”No…” he began. 

”What? You’re not going?” Connie said a little bit too loud. ”Sorry. Why aren’t you going?” 

”Well… I don’t know,” he tried to explain. ”First of all, I didn’t even know about this until now. And second of all, I don’t have anyone to go with.” 

”Why don’t you go with someone as a friend?” Connie suggested. 

”Oh really who then? You? You are going with Sasha so…” 

”Not sure if she will say yes,” Connie interrupted. ”Sorry.” 

”I can’t go with you two, I will be the third wheel it’s not fun,” Jean said. ”Who else am I supposed to go with? Marco?” 

His sarcasm didn’t reach Connie, because he looked up when he heard Marco’s name. _Oh no,_ Jean thought. 

”Yes!” Connie said. 

”What?” Jean tried to act like he didn’t hear what Connie just said. 

”Oh hey we need to hurry up now school is about to start and both of us are late. See you later!” 

And with that he was gone. 

_Seriously?_ Jean thought. _I should hurry up too…_

As he walked as quickly as possible to the classroom with only one thought in his head. 

_Going to the winter dance with Marco._

———————————

”Jean,” Connie said and poked him on the arm. ”Jean, are you listening? HEY JEAN!” 

Connies loud voice made Jean come back to reality. 

”What were you think about?” Connie asked with his mouth full of food. 

”Nothing,” Jean mumbled. But he couldn’t think of nothing. He was staring at a certain someone eating alone a few tables away. It wasn’t everyday he saw Marco in school, and it wasn’t very often he saw him in the cafeteria. He was alone, and Jean couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. 

”Okay but I still need your advice,” Connie kept talking but Jean didn’t really listen. He just nodded and smiled sometimes. But every now and then he looked at Marco, sitting alone, eating alone. However, he didn’t do anything. He didn’t dare to. Not yet.

———————————

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. I am leaving you with a small cliffhanger (but don't worry, worse things might come) and I know it's super short but... the next chapter is going to be even shorter (how short it's gonna be is still unclear since I'm not done with it yet) but I will post as often as I can since I took a random 2 month break and I am sorry for that 
> 
> sorry for my trash, but I guess if you have read this far you probably like reading trashy fics like mine so... enjoy


	8. As...Friends?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kinda fluff with lots of angst and it's shitty and it's late and I am so sorry I'm gonna start writing the next chapter now I am finally free from homework so I have time

He was going to ask Marco after school. Jean knew that it wasn’t good to postpone things because it would probably end up with him not doing the thing, but he needed to gather courage. Yes, he and Marco were friends, at least according to Jean. However, he didn’t know if Marco thought the same about him. 

The day passed by quicker than Jean had hoped. He was getting more and more nervous. Would Marco say yes?

A few months ago, Jean wouldn’t even think about asking anyone to the dance, and especially not thinking about going with someone he hated at that moment. It’s really amazing how giving people a second chance can change so much in a person’s life. 

When the day was over Jean saw Marco in the hallways. He was quite far away, and it was getting crowded. Too many people. He couldn’t get past them. There was only one thing he could do, and he hoped Marco would notice. 

”HEY MARCO!” Jean yelled as loud as he could, trying to get his voice to reach Marco’s ears. He knew it would be difficult though. People were talking a lot. It was Friday and everyone was excited for the weekend. But when Marco turned around to look where Jean was it was confirmed to Jean that he heard it. He waved his hand high up in the air to let Marco know where he was. Jean was relieved when he pushed himself through the crowd trying to get to Jean. 

”Hey…” Jean said with a smile. ”So… I have something to tell you. You think we could go… ouch!” He yelled as someone elbowed him in the back. ”Think we could go somewhere with less people?” 

”Perfect timing!” Marco responded. ”I too have something to tell you.” 

There were less people in the hallway but still too much. Together they moved through the school building to find a place where they could be alone. After going through the maze of hallways they finally decided to stop outside one of the chemistry classrooms. 

”Do you…” they both said at the same time and then laughed. ”You first.” Jean said. 

”Okay…um…” Marco hesitated. ”So… Do you have any plans next Friday?”

Jean thought about it. Next Friday was the winter dance. However, he wasn’t sure if Marco was going to say yes or no, so he just answered, ”No, I don’t have plans why?” 

He was completely clueless. 

”I was thinking that we maybe… Could go to the winter dance together?” Marco said it like a question and hoped he would get an answer. Instead, Jean started laughing loudly. Marco didn’t know what to say or do. He had asked a serious question and hoped to get a serious answer but Jean was laughing? 

”Wow what a coincidence!” Jean laughed. ”I was planning to ask you too! If you wanted to go to the winter dance as friends.”

Marco was both happy and confused. _As…Friends?_ Marco thought. _I guess we’re not there yet._ He hoped that they could go as… more than friends. As friends was fine too, because at least they would be together. 

”So should we meet a few hours earlier?” Jean asked. ”You know, if we’re going to go together.”

”Yeah sounds great!” Marco agreed. ”I know this guy from my Spanish class. He’s apparently having like a pre-party. Should we go to that maybe?”

”Yeah sure why the hell not?” Jean responded. I mean, it’s a party. How bad can it be? Jean thought. 

”Then it’s decided! I’ll be at your place around five next Friday!”

————————————

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's shitty but I will hopefully keep going with this
> 
> edit: okay so the next chapter will be quite long. Prepare yourself! A bomb of fluff is coming! It will (hopefully) be posted in a week. This time I don't have any homework, so I have a lot of time to write (I have homework but I will just do it the night before the due date) Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOO.... At first I was going to write one really long chapter but then I decided it would be better to split it in two chapters instead. I am so sorry for writing this and I'm sorry for my shitty writing I am trying to improve.

Monday

The day was getting closer and closer and Marco couldn’t help but feeling anxious. _What should I wear? A tux? Wait no, a tux might be too much. A suit? No, I don’t want to look like I just came from an office. Should I just ask him what he is going to wear?_

His own thoughts made him more and more stressed. The thought of him might overthink this crossed his mind, but it was not his top priority so he simply ignored that thought. Except for the anxiety from the upcoming dance, he was suffering from school stress. It was the time of the year when all the teachers decided to team up and plan every test, homework and assignment due the last week of school. Since it was his senior year, this was his last chance to build up those grades so he could get in to a good college. 

Marco was on his way to school. It was the last week. The Winter Dance was on Friday on the last week. It was Monday today. He stopped walking for a second and thought about it. It was less than a week left and still had no idea what he should wear. He had a tux at home and he knew it would fit him, but he thought a tux might be too much. _A black suit would be perfect though. But what color of the tie? Should we have matching? No, that might be too much._

Lost in his own thoughts Marco didn’t realize that time was ticking and he was late for school. He was late and he had a test on first period. As fast as he could he started running but immediately regretted it. After only a few steps he slipped on the ice and landed on his arm. 

Crack!

———————————

It was bad. His arm was broken. One of the bones in his forearm was broken. Snapped in two. The other bone was almost intact. Almost. There was a small crack in the bone but it was not broken like the other bone. One small bone in his wrist was too a bit messed up. It had moved a few millimeters. Not much, but enough to make it hurt. He had to wear a cast on his forearm for almost two months. That wasn’t the worst part. He had landed on his dominant arm. 

After he fell he first walked all the way to school and straight to the nurses office. They were surprised that he didn’t go to a hospital right away. He finally got to the nearest hospital and got an x-ray of his arm. It took a while until he finally got to go back to school, but by that time he was exhausted from being in the hospital all day he decided to go home instead. 

When he was almost home he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. It was difficult for him to get it out because of the pain but he managed to do it. The screen showed a missed call from his friend. A text from his dad saying, ”I’m working night shift, at home sleeping right now”. But the one thing on his phone that caught his attention was the latest text. _”Hey, didn’t see you at all today and was hoping you’re doing okay. No one has heard from you so I felt the need to text you to see how you’re doing. Hope to see you tomorrow. /Jean”._ His concerned text made Marco’s heart race and his body became warmer. He tried responding to the text but walking and texting with one hand, especially his non-dominant hand, was difficult. He decided to wait until he got home and then sent the text. 

Marco didn’t even bother to wonder how Jean got his phone number. 

———————————

Tuesday

The next day in school Marco and Jean didn’t see each other. Since they didn’t have any class together that day and couldn’t find each other during lunch break it was very lonely for both of them. It was four days left and both of them were anxious.

Jean slightly regretted asking Marco to go with him as friends, but now it was too late for him to change that. He wanted Marco to be his date instead. It would be more memorable. He was a bit nervous though. Marco would come home to him before they went to the other guy’s house. His mom would not be home during that time so it meant that they would be all alone. In his house. Not for long though, but it made Jean both scared and excited. He had already decided what to wear. A black suit with a red tie. It was christmas soon so he thought it would be fitting.

He sat at home, thinking about doing some homework but it was difficult with all the thoughts on his mind. Instead he decided to take out his sketchpad and draw. There was only one face he could think about. 

———————————

Wednesday

It was two days until the dance. Jean was getting more and more anxious while Marco was finally calming down. School was killing Marco, but since he couldn’t write properly with his non-dominant hand he couldn’t do all the schoolwork he was supposed to do. His arm still hurt a little but the pain was starting to fade. The doctors said it would feel worse for a while after the injury because it hurt when his bones was starting to mend. They were right. Marco thought it hurt a lot, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. How would he be able to dance if it hurt this much? Of course, no one really dances with their hands, but still, moving around a lot hurt sometimes. 

Jean saw Marco for the first time in a while. He was standing by his locker and looked like he was in pain, so Jean walked up to him to see what was going on. Then he saw the cast on Marco’s arm. 

”What happened?” Jean asked with a concerned tone. 

”Um… Well…” Marco was surprised by the question and wasn’t sure how to respond. Should he really say that he fell because he was late for school after thinking about the Winter Dance? ”I… Eh… I kind of fell.” 

”Is it broken? How are you feeling? Does it hurt a lot?” 

”Yes, I’m okay thank you for asking and yes, it hurts,” Marco responded, trying to not sound sarcastic. 

So that’s why I haven’t seen him in a while, Jean thought. 

”You can still go to the dance, right?” Jean asked. 

”Of course I can go to the dance, it’s not like I dance with my hand.” Marco smiled. ”Besides, I’m not going to ditch you just because I have a small injury.” 

Jean managed to smile despite being worried about Marco. ”Okay, see you in class tomorrow then,” Jean said when he realized he was late for class, and so was Marco. 

”Okay bye!” Marco said as Jean left. He smiled for himself. Is he really worried about me? he thought.

———————————

Thursday

They barely saw each other that day. Only once, in class. They were going to write a letter to someone special in their life. It was supposed to help them get better at expressing different feelings and using more difficult words. Even though it was almost winter break the teacher thought it would be good to have some extra time to think about the letter. Both Marco and Jean knew who they were going to write to. 

———————————

Friday

_Today is the day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the shitty ending...


End file.
